Paul Krugman: The Water Next Time [feedly]

Paul Krugman: The Water Next Time
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2016/08/paul-krugman-the-water-next-time.html

"This election is likely to be decisive for the climate":

The Water Next Time, by Paul Krugman, NY Times: ...The governor of flood-ravaged Louisiana asked President Obama to postpone a personal visit while relief efforts were still underway. ... He made the same request to Donald Trump, declaring, reasonably, that while aid would be welcome, a visit for the sake of a photo op would not.

Sure enough, the G.O.P. candidate flew in, shook some hands, signed some autographs, and was filmed taking boxes of Play-Doh out of a truck. If he wrote a check, neither his campaign nor anyone else has mentioned it. Heckuva job, Donnie! ...

Let's back up for a minute and talk about the real meaning of the Louisiana floods. In case you haven't been keeping track, lately we've been setting global temperature records every month. ...

And one consequence of a warmer planet is more evaporation, more moisture in the air, and hence more disastrous floods. ... So a proliferation of disasters like the one in Louisiana is exactly what climate scientists have been warning us about.

What can be done? The bad news is that drastic action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases is long overdue. The good news is that the technological and economic basis for such action has never looked better. In particular, renewable energy — wind and solar — has become much cheaper in recent years, and progress in energy storage looks increasingly likely to resolve the problem of intermittency (The sun doesn't always shine, the wind doesn't always blow.) ...

It probably won't surprise you to hear that..., as with so many issues, Mr. Trump has gone deep down the rabbit hole, asserting not just that global warming is a hoax, but that it's a hoax concocted by the Chinese to make America less competitive.

The thing is, he's not alone in going down that rabbit hole..., Mr. Trump is squarely in the Republican mainstream. ...

In any case, this election is likely to be decisive for the climate, one way or another. President Obama has made some serious moves to address global warming, and there's every reason to believe that Hillary Clinton would continue this push — using executive action if she faced a hostile Congress. Given the technological breakthroughs of the last few years, this push might just be enough to avert disaster. Donald Trump, on the other hand, would do everything in his power to trash the planet, with the enthusiastic support of his party. So which will it be? Stay tuned.

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